


not the idle boy

by fishstixx



Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fight Aftermath, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, aka i’m tired of happy-go-lucky innocent baby sodapop, and i decided it was time for him to cause problems and then be sad, can be interpreted as stevepop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24622954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishstixx/pseuds/fishstixx
Summary: “He doesn’t say much of anything to me anymore. Sometimes that hurts worse.”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	not the idle boy

“Where the _hell_ were you?”

Soda stiffened, slowly turning to face the familiar silhouette propped up against the doorway. Suddenly he was thankful for the darkness, because if he couldn’t see Steve that meant Steve couldn’t see _him_.

“I didn’t know you were stayin’ here tonight. You weren’t here when I left.” Blatantly Soda avoided the question, quietly toeing the door shut behind him and kicking off his boots. His attempt to slip past the other and into the kitchen was curbed by a hand on his chest that pushed him back towards the couch.

Soda felt the back of his legs hit the couch and he let himself drop down, innocently folding his hands over his lap and looking up at Steve. His eyes were still unadjusted to the dark so he couldn’t read Steve’s expression, but he knew well enough from tone alone that he was concerned as well as irritated.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Just blowin’ off some steam.” Soda’s tone was cool, coming off as much more unbothered than he actually was. His whole face hurt, his side burned, and yet he fessed none of it. “Lower your voice, you might wake up Dar. Been sleeping lighter since- since Pone’s been missing.”

“Maybe Dar needs waking up.” Steve hissed, bending over so he was closer to Soda’s face. “What the hell, Soda? That’s one hell of a bruise you got there, how you gonna explain that?”

Lifting a hand to gingerly brush his fingers against his nose, Soda winced. It wasn’t broken, but it certainly didn’t feel nice. “Don’t wake him up, Steve. It ain’t nothin’.”

Soda watched as Steve rounded on his heels with an animalistic noise of frustration and began pacing the living room. “‘Ain’t nothin’? Why aren’t you talkin’ to me? I ain’t Dar, I don’t gotta worry about finding some brat little kid, Soda! You ain’t gonna upset me by talkin’!”

Suddenly the couch dipped with the added weight of Steve sitting beside Soda. Unable to keep his innocent, unbothered facade anymore, he hid his breaking resolve by burying his face in his hands.

Soda could sense the sudden change in Steve’s demeanor, fading to something more gentle as the other's arm came to settle over his shoulders. The threat of Darry waking up dropped along with Steve’s volume. “Talk to me, Soda. Without lying this time, I don’t expect you to be happy forever.”

Those were the words that sent the tears spilling over Soda’s cheeks, moving one hand to his mouth as a muffle for his sobs. Steve just sat there, rubbing circles into the other boy’s shoulder. Eventually his cries subsided and he was left with his head down and legs swinging.

“...Sometimes Darry don’t hear a word I say and Pony looks right past me like I ain’t even there ‘till he needs something.” Soda finally choked out, grabbing for Steve’s shirt with a shaky hand and curling his hand into a fist around the fabric. It was enough of a comfort for him to keep from dissolving into tears again and he pressed on.

“I’m glad Dar don’t dig into me like he does Pony, but glory, he doesn’t say much of anything to me anymore. Sometimes that hurts worse and I wish he would get to yelling at me for staying out too late or not doing something I was supposed to, but then I realize how dumb I’m being.” Soda stopped shielding his face now, moving the hand that’d been hiding his eyes to furiously scrub at his face like he could chase another wave of tears away. It worked, at least a little. “I don’t stop toeing the line though. Key some soc’s car, slash the tires of one of the guys I know Sandy hooked up with. Darry ain’t caught me yet, or if he has, he forgot already.”

The room lapsed into silence as Soda waited for Steve to say something, slowly letting his hands fall to pick at a frayed thread on his jeans instead. Eventually an intake of air made him look up, but he wasn’t greeted by words. Instead he was pulled into a tight hug, and for a moment Soda was safe from his grief and could breathe again.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! of course kudos and comments are greatly appreciated, this is the first time i’ve written fanfiction in a while haha. i’m excited to get back into it and if there’s enough interest expect more! let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see but also i plan on doing more from this setting, maybe a prequel where we actually see him fighting or angry. i /love/ angry.


End file.
